Erdogan Hasn’t Killed Turkey’s Democracy Yet

The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section.

June 25, 2018

Image

CreditCreditWoody Harrington

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s electoral victory in Turkey on Sunday, which returned him to the presidency and gave his coalition command of most parliamentary seats, was a crushing disappointment for Turks and people around the world who are alarmed by his authoritarian behavior and rejection of democratic principles.

Because of constitutional changes narrowly approved in a referendum last year, he will now extend his 15-year-long hold on power with sweeping new authority over the legislature and the judiciary, part of his plan to become a modern-day Ottoman sultan.

And yet, even after he imprisoned thousands of people he viewed as opponents, ensured his cronies would control most of the media, and suppressed dissent, Mr. Erdogan faced his toughest electoral struggle. Many Turks have grown tired of his imperial behavior, are uncomfortable with his imposition of Islamic strictures on a secular state and are disturbed by signs of economic weakening.

Democracy is remarkably resilient in Turkey, even if badly battered. You can see it in the 87 percent of all Turkish voters who cast ballots, including at least 1.5 million who live in Germany and elsewhere overseas.

Despite Mr. Erdogan’s determined efforts to quash voter turnout by Turkey’s ill-treated Kurdish minority, the H.D.P., a liberal democratic party that emphasizes minority rights and is led by an imprisoned Kurd, won nearly 12 percent of the vote, allowing it to qualify again for seats in Parliament.

Even more encouraging was the fact that Turkey’s fractured and long-demoralized opposition forged an alliance behind Muhharem Ince, a former physics teacher and veteran lawmaker, with the center-left Republican People’s Party. Mr. Ince came nearly out of nowhere to challenge Mr. Erdogan, the country’s most dominant politician since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, and won 31 percent of the vote, behind Mr. Erdogan’s 53 percent.

While Mr. Ince wasn’t ultimately able to keep Mr. Erdogan’s support below 50 percent and force him into a runoff as some hoped, he mounted an unexpectedly feisty challenge that drew huge crowds to 107 campaign rallies across the country. His compelling political case centered on pledging a return to parliamentary — rather than strong-president — government, a more independent judiciary, greater personal freedoms and a lifting of the state of emergency imposed by Mr. Erdogan after a botched coup in 2016.

The election also raised the profile of another credible presidential contender, Meral Aksener, a conservative nationalist who broke from the Nationalist Movement Party, Mr. Erdogan’s ally, and formed a new party, called Good. Ms. Aksener also opposed the presidential-led authoritarian regime that Mr. Erdogan plans to lead and promised to support Mr. Ince in the event of a runoff.

Although it may be difficult to summon up optimism after a defeat, if Mr. Ince and Ms. Aksener stay engaged in politics, they could build a stronger and more organized opposition that will draw in new and younger voters and compete again for control of Parliament, and the presidency, in five years.

Rescuing Turkish democracy from Mr. Erdogan’s determined efforts to corrupt the system will also require sustained involvement by the millions of Turks who voted against him and yearn for the days when their country was once on the path to becoming a modern Muslim democracy.

Despite these small victories, there is no sugarcoating the bleak days ahead. This remains a chastening demonstration for advocates of democracy and freedom everywhere that strongman rule still has a chilling appeal to many.

After years of accruing power informally, Mr. Erdogan can now officially assert yet more control by dispensing with the office of prime minister, directly appointing top officials, and intervening in the legal system. Given an unexpectedly robust showing by his Justice and Development Party’s partner, the nationalist M.H.P., Mr. Erdogan seems likely to have a broad, and malleable, parliamentary majority.

The new mandate is likely to make Mr. Erdogan an even more difficult NATO ally, one who cozies up to Russia, buys Russian missile defense systems and a Russian nuclear reactor, and tangles with the United States over the Kurds in Syria and Iraq.

With the new powers allowing Mr. Erdogan to run again and potentially remain in office until 2028, there could be many years ahead to deal with the problems of one-man rule.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A26 of the New York edition with the headline: Democracy Isn’t Dead in Turkey Yet. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe